Atuyambe Lynn M, Etajak Samuel, Walyawula Felix, Kasasa Simon, Nyabigambo Agnes, Bazeyo William, Wipfli Heather, Samet Jonathan M, Berhane Kiros T
Department of Community Health and Behavioural Services, Makerere University School of Public Health, College of Health Sciences, Kampala, Uganda.
The Eastern Africa GEOHealth Hub, Kampala, Uganda.
J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol. 2025 Apr;35(2):288-293. doi: 10.1038/s41370-024-00684-9. Epub 2024 Jun 15.
Air pollution is a known risk factor for non-communicable diseases that causes substantial premature death globally. Rapid urban growth, burning of biomass and solid waste, unpaved sections of the road network, rising numbers of vehicles, some with highly polluting engines, contribute to the poor air quality in Kampala.
To provide evidence-based estimates of air pollution attributable mortality in Kampala city, with focus on ambient fine particulate matter (PM).
We utilized a time series design and prospectively collected data on daily ambient PM concentration levels in micrograms per cubic meter (μg/m) using a Beta Attenuation Monitor (BAM-1022) in Kampala city, Uganda. We combined the PM data with all-cause mortality data obtained from the Uganda Bureau of Statistics and the Ministry of Health in Kampala. We calculated attributable risk estimates for mortality using the WHO AirQ+ tools.
Overall, the annual average concentration for PM for the period of 4 years, 2018-2021, was 39 μg/m. There was seasonal variation, with the rainy season months (March-June and October-December) having lower values. PM concentrations tend to be highest in the morning (09.00 h) and in the evening (21.00 h.) likely due to increased vehicular emissions as well as the influence of weather patterns (atmospheric temperature, relative humidity and wind). Saturday has the most pollution (daily average over 4 years of 41.2 μg/m). Regarding attributable risk, we found that of all the deaths in Kampala, 2777 (19.3%), 2136 (17.9%), 1281 (17.9%) and 1063 (19.8%) were attributable to long-term exposure to air pollution (i.e., exposure to PM concentrations above the WHO annual guideline of 5 μg/m) from 2018 to 2021, respectively. For the 4 years and considering the WHO annual guideline as the reference, there were 7257 air pollution-related deaths in Kampala city.
Our study is the first to estimate air pollution attributable deaths in Kampala city considering the target as the WHO annual guideline value for PM of 5 μg/m. Our monitoring data show that fine particulate matter air pollution in Kampala is above the WHO Air Quality Guideline value, likely resulting in substantial adverse health effects and premature death. While further monitoring is necessary, there is a clear need for control measures to improve air quality in Kampala city.
空气污染是已知的非传染性疾病风险因素，在全球导致大量过早死亡。城市的快速发展、生物质和固体废物的燃烧、道路网络的未铺设路段、车辆数量的增加（其中一些车辆发动机污染严重），都导致了坎帕拉空气质量不佳。
提供基于证据的坎帕拉市空气污染所致死亡率估计，重点关注环境细颗粒物（PM）。
我们采用时间序列设计，前瞻性地收集了乌干达坎帕拉市使用β衰减监测仪（BAM - 1022）以每立方米微克数（μg/m³）为单位的每日环境PM浓度水平数据。我们将PM数据与从乌干达统计局和坎帕拉卫生部获得的全因死亡率数据相结合。我们使用世界卫生组织的AirQ +工具计算死亡率的归因风险估计值。
总体而言，2018 - 2021年这4年期间PM的年均浓度为39μg/m³。存在季节性变化，雨季月份（3月至6月和10月至12月）的值较低。PM浓度往往在早晨（09:00）和晚上（21:00）最高，这可能是由于车辆排放增加以及天气模式（大气温度、相对湿度和风速）的影响。周六的污染最严重（4年日均为41.2μg/m³）。关于归因风险，我们发现，在坎帕拉所有死亡病例中，2018年至2021年分别有2777例（19.3%）、2136例（17.9%）、1281例（17.9%）和1063例（19.8%）归因于长期暴露于空气污染（即暴露于高于世界卫生组织年度指南5μg/m³的PM浓度）。在这4年中，以世界卫生组织年度指南为参考，坎帕拉市有7257例与空气污染相关的死亡病例。
我们的研究首次以世界卫生组织PM年度指南值5μg/m³为目标，估计了坎帕拉市空气污染所致死亡情况。我们的监测数据表明，坎帕拉的细颗粒物空气污染高于世界卫生组织空气质量指南值，可能导致大量不良健康影响和过早死亡。虽然有必要进一步监测，但显然需要采取控制措施来改善坎帕拉市的空气质量。
